18.8 C
Byron Shire
March 28, 2024

Cinema Review – Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

Latest News

Man charged over domestic violence and pursuit offences – Tweed Heads

A man has been charged following a pursuit near Tweed Heads on Monday.

Other News

UK court seeks assurances from US over Julian Assange

The UK High Court of Justice has released a 66 page judgement seeking more information from the United States relating to Australian citizen Julian Assange, which it says it needs before deciding whether to grant the WikiLeaks founder leave to appeal his extradition.

Democracy on the ropes?

The ancient idea of democracy is under threat around the world. Today, there are only 63 democracies compared to 74 autocracies, and many of these democracies are highly problematic.

Casuarina cricketers too strong for Mullumbimby Brunswick in grand final

Mullumbimby Brunswick Cricket Club (MBCC) had a very successful season finishing second on the ladder at the end of the home and away season with 13 wins and 4 losses, but fell short of winning the grand final against the Casuarina Crocs.

Splendour 2024 cancelled

It's official, Splendour in the Grass 2024 has been cancelled.

How the coral crisis affects other marine wildlife

Marine heatwaves are killing coral and denuding reefs of their colourful beauty – but in a world where everything is food for something else, these heatwaves also pose a major threat to biodiversity.

A seasoned bard

Guy Kachel had an idyllic entry to the world of music. Born in Tamworth, he was raised on the banks of the Peel River. The landscape was a fertile ground for his imagination. Seeing this rustic world change, as Tamworth developed into an inland city and friends grew to sometimes troubled adulthoods, provided insights for the artistry that later powered his career as a performer.

maze-runner-scorch-trialsIn the line of duty, I’ve seen some doozy zombies over the years (who could ever forget the beauties in I Am Legend?), but the ones in this overblown teen sci-fi epic take the cadaver in the freak-out stakes. Quite late in proceedings, as though included as an afterthought, the first of them emerges dripping scum from the wall of an unlit cavern and chomps the head off a poor mangy rat before making slavering pursuit of our heroes.

Honestly, I had to laugh out loud. A brief re-cap at the beginning of the movie is intended to keep us up to speed with at what stage of manic flight and rebellion the cute youngsters have found themselves, but it’s all starting to look like a gluggy overcooked stew of Hunger Games, Divergent and Maze Runner 1 (the latest instalment of which might have more accurately been sub-titled ‘The Skid Marks’). As is the genre’s rule, the story is post-apocalypse in its setting and, another mandatory component, the rulers are a bunch of cruel fascist bastards. There is some sort of plague devastating the established order and youngsters are being farmed for their bodies’ fluids in the ongoing research to find a vaccine. Having escaped their oppressors, the ‘Gladers’ strike out for the promise of freedom in the distant mountains. The alpha-male in the group, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), bears an unsettling resemblance to Tony Perkins’s Norman Bates, but the kids love him and, by Jove, he does manage to come up with the goods, albeit at the last excruciating minute, as the bizarrely cast Patricia Clarkson’s heavies chase them here and there. How they happened to find themselves zonked out in a scene reminiscent of a party at Andy Warhol’s factory was no more baffling to me than the divine Patsy Cline’s Walking After Midnight being played while a warehouse is razed to the ground as the Gladers flee from it. But never mind, it’ll be on again next year – although I doubt that they’ll be able to improve on those zombies.


Support The Echo

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week – or maybe more – we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Where should affordable housing go in Tweed Shire?

Should affordable and social housing in the Tweed Shire be tucked away in a few discreet corners? Perhaps it should be on the block next to where you live?

Making Lismore Showground accessible to everyone

The Lismore Showground isn’t just a critical local community asset that plays host to a number of major events each year, but has also been used as an evacuation centre during past natural disasters in the region. 

Iconic Lennox beach shed upgraded –  not demolished

Lennox Park and the shelter shed has now been upgraded and reopened.

Govt cost-shifting ‘erodes financially sustainable local government’

Byron Shire Council looks set to add its voice to the growing chorus calling on the state government to stop shifting responsibilities and costs onto local government.